2018 icon

The economy is booming. This is due, in part, to the prevalence of short-term contracts and freelance work. In today’s gig economy, temporary, flexible jobs are commonplace and companies tend toward hiring independent contractors and freelancers instead of full-time employees. Millennials, in particular, embrace autonomous project-based jobs and this trend is set to rise even more as more Millennials and remote workers enter the workforce.

 

In the final part of this 2018 predictions series, we’ll consider the impact the Gig Economy will have in the coming year.

knowledge sharing enabling social learning

HR in 2018: ‘Gig Economy’ The New Norm

Leaders in the coming year will have more resources at their disposal to predict and understand staff and contractor needs far more accurately than ever before. As we begin 2018, managers and HR pros can expect new opportunities to lead organizational change. The gig economy means that business leaders now has the additional external resources coupled with the technology and company-wide acceptance of the tools and strategies needed to lead a new generation of workers in ways we simply couldn’t have even dreamed of a decade ago.

Millennials and other remote workers have the mindset to push the boundaries on a project-by-project basis. HR in 2018 has, therefore, a big chance to make the workplace a more productive environment; one in which career development, real conversations, innovate forms recognition and better cross-generational relations exist.

The decoupling of location from productivity has passed the test phase of 2010-2017 and is becoming the new norm. Indeed, many experts predict mobile workers will account for nearly three-quarters of the U.S. workforce by 2020!

In an era when its harder than ever to compete for the full time of top talent,  flexible work provisions will enhance a company’s employer value proposition, vastly increase the candidate talent pool and is an effective way of retaining highly valued employees.

On-demand hiring promises lower costs, but it also creates more competition for top talent as more traditional careers are phased out and are replaced with temporary positions. This means that talent aquisition will need to be fast and agile in order to identify and attract employees with the required skills along with the staff project teams that can quickly perform the corresponding internal tasks.

Enjoyed part four? You’ll love parts one, two and three – read them exclusively on The HR Gazette.